To Be or Not to Be Normal
by PenguinsRFunny
Summary: It's been 2 years since Jake and Miley broke up, what happens when the two meet again on Christmas Eve?  Has Jake really changed and is that enough to bring them back together?  Definite Jiley.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys this is my first go at a fanfic. Take a look and if you'd like to read more please review. **

**Disclaimer: Nope don't own Hannah Montana or the characters from the show. **

Prologue

It had been over 2 years since Miley had received the note from Leslie ensuring her that he'd always keep her secret and 2 years since she'd last seen him. Things since then had been pretty uneventful. Hannah continued to knock people's socks off with her unending string of number 1 hits. Jackson had miraculously graduated and had started college at UCLA last fall. Oliver and Lilly were still Miley's best friends and helped her get into more trouble over stupid things than Miley would have ever thought possible….and Miley…well Miley had kept herself busy with being two different people. She had balanced school with superstardom and had come out relatively unscathed.

Well ok…pretty much unscathed. Although she had nearly everything she could ever want, fame, fortune and good friends, keeping her secret had also caused her to close herself off to all but a few special people. These people were the one's she knew she could trust with her life, her happiness, and last but not least her heart. This sacrifice had definitely paid off in some respects. She could go to school, eat at restaurants, enjoy movies with her friends without having to endure loads of starstruck fans or people treating her differently because of her fame. But as we know freedom doesn't come cheaply and hiding half of her life and herself from others was a lonely business. She never made good friends easily and boyfriends that she really cared about came by even less frequently. She just never knew if she could trust them so she pushed them away and hid her loneliness in her dual schedules.

Despite this, Miley never really let herself fall into any deep depression over this… at least not the type of depression where one locks themselves in a room and eat ice cream all day long. Instead she contented herself with everyday things like fighting with Jackson or laughing at Oliver. And when she felt most alone she would think back to the time in her life when she had last felt that undeniable spark of excitement and wonder, the time she felt the most special, and most loved. Those were of course the times that she had spent alone with Jake.

Miley had realized some time ago that she had been fairly lucky to find someone at 14 whose memory could still make her smile. She had followed his life in the tabloids and teen magazines like other girls with the slightly smug satisfaction that she actually knew what it felt like to kiss him and wouldn't have to dream it out of nothing. She also knew that eventually their star-studded lives would probably cross again and she hoped that when the day came that they could at least be friends. None of her current friends could understand the difficulties of stardom as well as Jake and there were times when she could have used his advice. She didn't dwell on the past hoping that he'd show up and try to sweep her off her feet again but no other boy had even come close to taking his place in her heart.

It wasn't that no other boys had offered or even tried but none had ever gone to the lengths that Jake had to show how much he cared for her. Hell if she wanted to think about it there were probably some of those mini jellies left in the pantry from the deluge of gift baskets he'd sent her. And no matter how upset she might be the mere thought of him walking around Malibu in a suit of armor would force a smile to her face.

She wasn't wasting her days dreaming that he'd come back to her (those days were long since gone) but there was definitely a part of her heart that would always belong to the blonde zombie slayer. She just hoped that someday she'd find someone else who would make her feel the same way.

**Jake's POV**

Today was Christmas Eve and Jake was spreading Christmas cheer to those who needed it most. He walked down the hall of the Childrens ward at Seaview Cancer Center with boxes of toys in his arms to leave under the tree for the children in the morning. His sister Sarah had joined him with even more packages in tow.

Jake had spent the day visiting with some of the sick boys and girls who would be spending their holiday here in the Hospital. Jake had signed autographs and played games with as many kids as possible. This was the part of being a celebrity that he had come to cherish most. He felt good about himself knowing that he could brighten these kids day just by being here and after everything they had been through a smile was a very precious gift indeed.

As Jake approached the larger common room that held the Chrismtas tree and decorations he could hear the few kids still awake signing the end of "White Christmas".

"And may all your Christmas's be white." The group ended the song softly not trying to wake up those that had already fallen asleep.

It was then that he recognized the predominant voice of the group. A voice he knew all too well. The voice continued.

"All right ya'll I'm going to wrap this party up with one of my favorites. It's a soft one so hopefully it'll help you all get to sleep so that the big guy in red can make his own visit. I've had a great time here today and I wish you all the best of Christmas's."

Jake and Sarah had reached the room. Hannah was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room with her back to them lightly strumming her guitar.

Jake's heartbeat had skyrocketed in the last few moments. He hadn't planned on seeing Miley while he was back in Malibu. He figured it would just be too hard with everything that had happened in the last few years. But now that he had seen her he had to decide if he should say something to the girl who had stolen his heart 2 years ago. He could either talk to her and see what happened or turn around and try and forget that he'd ever run into her at all.

Then with the softest voice he had ever heard she began.

"Silent Night

Holy Night

All is Calm

All is bright….

The children were all either sleeping or fighting to keep their eyes open. It had been a very big day for all of them and they needed their sleep. The rest of the nurses and doctors just stood around the walls soaking in the beautiful voice that lulled them all to places of happiness and joy.

"…Sleep in Heavenly Peace."

She then put the guitar down and very quietly began thanking some of the nurses and staff.

He and Sarah took the opportunity to place the gifts under the tree and silently make their way out to the hall. He hadn't spoken to Miley in over 2 years but he knew that he couldn't just leave now without saying anything and wondering what would have happened if he had. He had come to believe in things like fate over the years and nothing cried destiny more than running into the love of your young life sitting near a beautiful Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. He knew he couldn't leave now without saying anything. he turned to Sarah.

"Hey do you mind waiting for me out in the car? There's a friend here I need to say Hello to."

"No Problem. Take your time." She leaned forward and gave him an understanding kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks."

A few minutes later Miley walked out of the common room. She was wearing a beautiful green dress with a white jacket and leggings. Although he knew her beautiful brown curls made her even more stunning, she still looked amazing in her blonde wig.

She stopped walking when she saw him.

"Jake???…" She whispered.

He smiled at her and nodded.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a slight coloring of her cheeks.

"Well the same as you I suppose. Trying to do something good with my time." I said trying to keep my cool around her.

Miley opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out. She tried again. "I…I…I just can't believe you're here. I thought that you were still away. You always seem to have another movie in the works.."

He looked her straight in the eye and said as purposefully as possible "Well I think I'm done running away for awhile."

Realizing that this could mean that he was here for a few days he tried to explained further. "Listen Miley, I stayed away on purpose for a really long time, but I think I'm done hiding."

"Listen I know I was a real jerk the last time we saw each other but do you think we could go somewhere and talk for awhile? There's a lot I'd like to talk to you about." He asked her.

Miley;s eyes seemed to brighten at that last part and it definitely did something to his insides to see it. In a second the brightness was gone and she looked a bit sad.

"I'm supposed to get going so that Jackson, Dad and I can open our presents from each other tonight before we go to bed but…. do you…do you think we can maybe take a raincheck and catch up in a few days?"

She hesitated a bit. "I missed you… ya know?"

He smiled at her feeling his cheeks go red and looked down at his feet. "I know. I've missed you too."

She took the pen that He'd used for autographs out of his jacket pocket and started writing something down on his hand. He turned it towards himself when she was finished to see her phone number scribbled hastily.

"So um…don't run off to Romania or anything in the next few days and maybe give your old friend a call?" Miley asked still looking mostly shocked.

Jake smiled again and looked at those amazing blue eyes that were still locked on him and for a second he was completely satisfied. All the pain of the last 2 years was lost in her eyes and he knew that he could tell her everything.

Jake leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. Her eyes closed as if savoring this small gesture. As his face remained painfully close to hers he whispered "Merry Christmas Miley."

She opened her eyes and whispered back "Merry Christmas Jake".

With that she stepped away and walked down the hallway. Before she could reach the door Jake stopped her.

"Miley wait!"

She turned and looked at him curiously.

"I definitely want to see you but… do you mind not telling anyone else that I'm back in Malibu? I mean it will probably get out but I could use some quiet time over the holidays to figure some things out."

She smirked and said softly "Don't worry. You're secret will always be safe with me."

He laughed slightly and shook his head as she repeated the line he had written her over 2 years ago. She turned before leaving the hospital door to look back at him and they both smiled. As Jake started to move toward the parking garage he began to think that this was already the best Christmas he had had in years.

**Let me know what you think...Please Read and Review!!!**


	2. Everything

**Disclaimer: News Flash. I don't own. Please don't be too shocked.**

Chapter 3- Everything

**Miley's POV **

Miley was shocked. As the limo took her back home she couldn't help replaying the last few moments with Jake over and over in her head. There was something definitely different about him. He hadn't flashed the zombie slayer smile even once while they talked. She couldn't even remember him giving her any of his signature gun firing hand gestures.

Of course like any sane teenage girl she had spent many hours fantasizing about a new and improved Jake Ryan coming back into her life at some point but she wasn't too far gone to have forgotten the Texas sized ego that he usually wore when around everyone else. But the Jake in the hospital seemed different.

No no no, she thought as she shook her head. She wouldn't let her heart jump to any conclusions about Jake having made that transition to normalcy while he was away. They had only seen each other for a few minutes. There was no way that she could make a sound judgment on him she? No. Definitely not. He probably still had the ego but even an ego maniac could see that a hospital full of sick kids wasn't the place to be playing gods gift to mankind. Yes. That must be what happened to him.

Despite all the analyzing of their short conversation that Miley was doing, she was also consciously avoiding thinking about one certain part of their exchange…..the kiss. Ok who was she kidding she might have tried not to think about it but she was failing BIG TIME. She couldn't believe that it still tingled where he had placed his lips on her cheek.

What on Earth was wrong with her?? It was just a small kiss on the cheek! She had experienced much more passionate kisses than that from guys (even from Jake). No matter what though she couldn't ignore how terrifyingly exciting it had been to feel his lips on her skin again. She breathed in and out to calm herself once again. She wouldn't jump to any conclusions about Jake.

As she built up her resolve not to think about the possibility of a new and improved Jake Ryan reentering her life her phone made a quiet chiming noise indicating a new text message. She opened the phone to see a message from Jake.

_I'll never forget you sitting there singing Silent Night. It was beautiful. Thank you. –Jake. _

She smiled despite herself. She knew that telling herself that she needed time to make up her mind about Jake and keeping her heart from overriding her mind completely were two very different things indeed.

As she walked into her house she saw her Dad and Jackson still waiting up for her in their pajamas.

"Hey Bud. How was the hospital?" Her Dad asked.

With a secret smile that she only had when thinking or talking about Jake she replied,

"Daddy I think it was one of the best Christmas Eve's I've had yet."

**Jake's POV**

As Jake and Sarah drove home there was only one thing on the zombie slayers mind….a certain blond/brunette pop star to be exact.

It had only been a few minutes since he'd seen her but he couldn't help sending her the text message about how beautiful she had been while singing tonight. He also couldn't help the smile that started inching across his face as he remembered it.

Sarah noticed her brother's unusual quiet and the cheeky grin that crossed his face as he sent the text message.

"Alright little brother…spill."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jake replied knowing that Sarah had noticed the smile that was plastered on his face.

"Hmmm…well…lets see. You tell me to wait in the car because you have to talk to a friend and you come back and there hasn't been a sound out of you. I even turned on the country music station about 5 minutes ago and there was no reaction. You usually can't go 5 seconds with that station on without trying to get me to change it. Since then you've been staring dreamily out the window with a silly grin on your face. So….as I said before….SPILL!"

"Alright… alright…. Stop with the inquisition already. God why did I have to have a sister who was a psych major anyway. I just saw a good friend of mine from Middle school in the Hospital that I haven't seen in a long time…. and we talked. And we might hang out or something while I'm in town." Jake replied still keeping his eyes out the window. He knew Sarah could read him better than anyone and he didn't want to give anything else away than he already had.

"I see…so was this a guy or girl friend?"

"A girl friend...I mean… a girl who is a friend." Jake replied obviously flustered.

Sarah smiled at her brother's expression and knew there was a lot more to this than he was trying to let on.

Sarah's voice sombered. "Is this friend of yours ok?"

"What?" Jake was confused and then realizing where they had just come from continued. "Oh yeah she was just visiting someone in the hospital."

"I see….and do you like this girl?"

"What!!?! Come on Sarah…. let's not do this right now. I don't feel like being analyzed to death at the moment."

"Jake, I'm not trying to analyze you…ok… well maybe a little. It's just that since you and I started hanging out together you haven't really mentioned any girls. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing…I mean… I always thought it was kinda trampy the way you moved through girlfriends in Middle school," Jake was giving her a death glare at this so she continued "but I still want you to be happy."

Jake sighed. He knew that seeing Miley again would complicate things and he really could use someone he could talk to about it. Maybe he would tell Sarah a little bit about her…just a little.

"Alright Miss Freud. Yes. My friend's name is Miley. She is a girl. And….and YES I like her. Alright?"

Sarah smiled. For a 16 year old boy it was pretty amazing that he'd even admit that girls existed to his older sister.

"I see…and do you think Miley might like you back?" Sarah asked sweetly. She definitely liked being an older sister, wise beyond her years.

Jake didn't really know how to answer this question. Miley had liked him 2 years ago ….but only after a LOT of convincing. But then he had been a jerk to her. He didn't even know if she had accepted his apology with the rose. Then again at the hospital she had said that she had missed him, and then her expression when he kissed her on the cheek.

Jake smiled to himself.

"Yeah. I think she might like me too."

Sarah noticed the smile that had once again made it to her brothers' face and sighed. She hadn't seen that look on his face in the 2 years that they had been living together. He had it BAD for this girl.

"So..you guys saw each other after 2 years of nothing and decided to like each other after about 3 minutes of actual conversation?" Sarah asked knowing that this couldn't be a new flame that Jake was describing.

Jake fidgeted in his seat. He knew that Sarah was better at getting to the point than he was at hiding it. He would just be honest with her.

"Ok..Ok..we might have dated for a short while before I left Malibu but I haven't talked to her since then. Alright? Happy?" Jake said a little bit of annoyance creeping into his voice. It's not that he didn't love his sister but this was VERY personal stuff.

Sarah looked at Jake again and replied "Almost….just help me to understand this last little point...then I'll leave you alone ok."

"Fine…what is it?" Jake said anxious to be done with this embarrassing conversation.

"Well…over the last 2 years I've seen lots of girls interested in you Jake but you never seemed interested in them back….what is it about this girl that makes her different from the rest?"

Jake smiled and glanced at his sister and then back out the window.

With a heavy sigh and a voice just above a whisper Jake replied.

"Everything."

**PLEASE Review!!!! Pretty Please? Come on…you know you want to. I live for feedback! Just no Flame. **


	3. The phone call

Chapter 4- The phone call

**Hey Everyone..thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I loved them all….keep it up and I'll keep this coming to you quickly. I know this one is short but the next few chapters are already written so I'll try and update soon. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own…maybe tomorrow? Riiiight. I'll keep dreaming about that one.**

**December 26****th**

**Jake's house**

Jake was pacing back and forth across the floor. He was definitely nervous. He wanted to see Miley more than anything since the hospital but he was not excited about telling her his decision. Before coming here everything had seemed so clear, it had made sense… but since seeing her everything in his life seemed to be turning itself upside down.

He knew he was going to call her. He couldn't help himself when it came to her. He just hoped that they could try and be good friends. Well, ok he really was hoping that a miracle would occur and she'd fall for him just as he had fallen for her 2 years ago and they'd live happily ever after…. But the important thing was that he kept TELLING himself that he was hoping that they could be friends.

There was no denying the fact that he really had missed her. She was the first person besides his sister that had really treated him like a normal human being. Of course he had let her down BIG TIME when he had tried to show her that he could be a normal kid. He shivered at the thought of it. Jake smiled at himself hoping that he would be able to show Miley how much he had improved in that respect.

No. No. No. He couldn't start thinking like that. What would happen if she did have feelings for him? Would he still be able to follow through with his decision? He knew that his decision was not a small one and that it would affect everyone in his family. But he still thought that it was the best solution for him and his sister. He couldn't go back on it now.

Ok. He would call her and they would talk. Hopefully they could be friends. He would be fine with that right? Alright I'm just going to do it. He told himself. He wouldn't be able to go through with anything until he talked to her and worked out the multitude of feelings circling his heart.

**Miley's POV**

Miley was busy finding the perfect place in her room for all the gifts she had received for Christmas. The clothes that her dad had bought with Lilly were in the closet. The gift certificates to Rico's from Oliver were sticking out of her mirror and the scary stuffed armadillo that Luann had sent her was under her bed near her smelly gym shoes. As she was looking for a place for the Kate Spade purse that she had bought Jackson for Christmas (they still only bought each other things for themselves) the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Miley, it's Jake."

A nervous smile broke across Mileys face at his voice.

"Hey Jake…I was wondering if you'd actually call me." She said flirtatiously bighting her lower lip.

"Well, I would have called sooner but everyone here was pretty crazy with family stuff." Jake replied.

Miley gave a stifled laugh. "Yeah tell me about it. I think I had blocked out how scary Jackson could be while he was at college. But now that he's back in the house for the holidays it's just too horrific to ignore." Miley said as she watched her brother across the hall practicing pick up lines in his mirror.

Jake laughed and sucked in a breath gaining the courage to do what he had called to do. "So… um…does that mean you'd be ok with leaving tonight to come out with me?"

Miley smiled. She was impressed with how smoothly he had asked her out. Her smile faded though as she remembered that she couldn't go.

"Actually, I can't. Tonight is the annual Stewart, Truscott, Oken Twisted Christmas party."

"Twisted Christmas?" Jake replied sounding confused.

Miley laughed to herself "Yeah…it's actually hard to explain but it's essentially a very non-traditional Christmas party. Everyone comes dressed in some sort of holiday costume, we have a barbeque, games, and of course music and dancing."

Jake's heart had dropped. He knew if he didn't see her soon it might be too late.

"Alright well maybe I'll give you a call in a few days once the holidays have died down and we can get together?" Jake replied sounding slightly disappointed.

Miley could hear the disappointment in his voice. She hoped that he was upset at having to wait a few days to see her…she herself was not too thrilled about waiting to see him. "Well…if you're not afraid of wearing something Christmasy why don't you and your family join us?" She replied.

"Hmm…" Jake mused. "Define Christmasy…."

"Well… last year Oliver won the costume contest… and he was dressed as the tree from Charlie Browns Christmas… he even had a hat that looked like a pine tree branch with a singular red ball on it that fell over onto his face…..it was fantastic." Miley explained with a huge grin on her face.

Jake laughed at the image. "I guess I could try and think of something."

"But… I don't think my parents can come is it alright though if I bring my sister?"

"Of course. Oh and if you have any leftovers from Christmas dinner bring those too but put them in Tupperware and wrap them like presents…it's a part of the tradition."

"Alright…" Jake sounded slightly scared.

Miley laughed again. "Don't worry Jake…it may not be quite normal…but it's always a good time."

"Ok Miles. I trust you."

Miley smiled at this.

"Ok everything starts here at my house around 4:00. See you then?"

"Alright. Bye Miley."

"Bye."

Miley's eyes brightened. The twisted Christmas parties were always fun but the thought of seeing Jake again so soon was making her slightly lightheaded. This would be a great opportunity to see if Jake had made those changes her heart was dreaming of.

**Jake's POV**

"So…was that her?" Sarah asked stealing a Christmas cookie from the pantry as Jake put down the phone.

"Yeah that was her." "She's invited our "family" to her Twisted Christmas party tonight." Jake said as he used air quotes around the word family.

"Ah….so….did you tell her about mom and dad?"

"No." Jake said dejectedly. "I didn't think it was quite time for THAT conversation." "But she said it was alright if just the two of us came….as long as we wore something "Christmasy"" Jake replied again using the air quotes around the word Christmasy.

Sarah's eyes lit up…"Wait! It's a costume party?!?" "I love this girl already!"

"Oh I know EXACTLY what you should wear!" Sarah's face was plastered with a mischievous smile as she headed for the hall closet where the Christmas decorations were kept.

Jakes eyes widened in horror. Whenever his sister got excited like that it almost surely meant public humiliation.

Jake began running after her desperately hoping to put a stop to whatever evil plan she was forming "Sarah!!!!….PLEASE…PLEASE remember that I do want this girl to speak to me again after tonight…"


	4. Twisted Chrismtas Part I

Chapter 5- Twisted Christmas Part I

**Hey Everyone…especially those faithful reviewers…I love the comments…it makes me feel loved. Just so you know the more reviews I get the faster I update. Mwahaha. A little blackmail never hurt anyone right? Anyway I also wanted to say that the next few chapters are all at the Christmas party….but there's a lot going on so I needed to break it up.**

**Disclaimer: Well would you believe a dog ate my papers saying that I owned Hannah Montana? No? Me either. **

Jake and Sarah arrived at Miley's fashionably late. Jake had spent much of the time since getting off the phone with Miley talking Sarah out of different outfit choices. He silently thanked the lord that after promising to do her laundry for a month that she had given up trying to get him to go as an elf so that he would wear the green and red tights they had found at the store. After much debate and lots of Jake promising to do different bits of slave labor for Sarah they had finally compromised and wore slightly matching but subdued Christmas outfits. Jake wore a green t shirt with Naughty written on it over a green and white pin striped button up with a matching green satin Santa hat and Sarah wore a red t shirt with Nice written on it with a matching red satin Santa hat. They rang the doorbell. Jackson answered the door wearing a full body furry reindeer outfit complete with red nose.

"Miley…Jake's here." He yelled into the living room.

The room had been transformed. Most of the furniture had been removed and replaced by various forms of what would normally be outdoor Christmas decorations scattered around the room. There were several large inflatable Christmas characters and enormous snowglobes with penguins and Disney characters inside of them, a few animatronic reindeer that moved and lots of Christmas lights. To the side by the piano was music equipment and a mic stand and the middle of the floor was cleared for what looked like dancing later on.

In the back of the room was a curtain with a snow filled Christmas scene and several plastic elves and snowmen as props. A professional photographer was there with his lights taking pictures of the guests with their costumes. The house was very full of people dressed in all sorts of holiday fare. Most people were wearing different shades of red and green, with funny looking hats (elf hats seemed to be the most popular). A few people were dressed as Santa. Mr. Stewart was wearing a very tacky red Christmas sweater with a giant Santa face on it.

Jake loved how much fun the house was like this. He had always had such formal Christmas parties as a kid. He and Sarah hadn't even been allowed to rip open their Christmas presents on Christmas morning like most kids… instead they were instructed to neatly remove the paper and place it automatically in a trash bag nearby (as to control the mess so that everything would be in its place for Christmas dinner). It looked like no one had ever taken Christmas too seriously in this house. He couldn't believe how happy everyone looked. He could see why this was an annual event.

Suddenly Miley came into view. She was wearing a very form fitting Santa's helper outfit complete with short red satin skirt with black sparkling belt, satin no sleeved zip up hoodie, red and white stockings, and knee high black leather boots. She looked amazing.

"Jake!" "I'm so glad that you came!" she exclaimed as she came over and gave him a hug. Jake was sure that his heart had stopped when she pressed her body against his. God why did she have to look so wonderful all the time? Jake thought to himself. Jake shakily handed her the leftovers they had wrapped and she placed them on a nearby table.

"Miley…" his voice cracked slightly "Um…I'd like you to meet my sister Sarah. Sarah this is my friend Miley Stewart." Jake introduced.

"It's great to meet you. I didn't even know Jake had a sister." Miley replied.

"Ah yes. He's very proud of me." Sarah said giving Jake a sisterly look of disgust.

Sarah eyed Miley closely. Over the years her brother literally could have dated anyone he wanted. But in the past 2 he hadn't taken more than a passing interest in any of them. She really never understood this change in him….that is…until now. She knew her brother had feelings for the girl in front of them and you would probably have to be blind not to see why. She. Was. Breathtaking. Even in her Christmas costume Sarah could tell that this girl could hold the attention of any guy she chose. Jake would definitely have his work cut out for him here. She just hoped that this girl wasn't the type to use her looks to obtain the prize of going out with her brother the movie star. She had seen enough of those girls to last a lifetime and she wasn't going to let anyone hurt him again like that…at least not without a fight.

Just then they heard a high pitched squeal and a very loud "JAKE!" coming from behind them.

As Jake turned around he couldn't help smiling widely. There was Lilly Truscott running towards him wearing the swan dress that Miley had worn the night they broke up with a children's inner tube around the dress. As ridiculous as the dress had been on Miley the inner tube just took the cake.

Jake gave Lilly the best hug he could considering the girth of the dress.

Jake laughed again. "Lily…it's great to see you…but what on earth does this outfit have to do with Christmas?" Jake asked with a big grin on his face.

Lilly smiled. "Well I'm one of the seven swans a swimming of course." She said with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye.

Jake laughed again. "So…do you have the other six running around somewhere or is it just you tonight?" Jake asked sarcastically as he surveyed her costume.

"Well…" Lilly started as they looked over at Oliver who was walking in from the back door wearing jeans, a blue and white button up…. and a matching children's inner tube with six small stuffed swans glued to it.

The four of them laughed.

Miley leaned towards Jake and whispered. "It's their first Christmas as a couple….I think you could say that Oliver is pretty well WHIPPED." Miley said doing a fake cough as her eyes got big.

Jake laughed and found himself thinking that he probably wouldn't mind wearing something like that if Miley were the one asking him too. Jake shook his head slightly and brought himself back to reality.

Oliver came over to them trying to look as cool as possible in the inner tube in front of Jake. "Sup Jake?"

"Nice costume." Jake said sincerely.

Oliver looked at Jake cockily and smirked. "Well you know I have a title to defend," he said as he hoisted his inner tube up slightly. Oliver then looked back at Lilly.

"Hey guys sorry to cut this little reunion short but Lilly I think that we need to go help your dad with the grill…I think he was having WAY too much fun with the lighter fluid." Oliver said raising his eyebrows and they went to help outside.

Jackson had come over to talk to Jake and Sarah as more guests entered that Miley needed to talk to. Jackson and Sarah seemed to hit it off immediately comparing embarrassing younger sibling stories. Within a half an hour most people had arrived and were mingling inside and enjoying themselves completely. Jackson and Sarah had left to go look at the video Jackson had of Miley chasing Jake with a sausage as he tried to run down their driveway dressed in a suit of armor. Jake had found himself with Lilly and Oliver catching up on the latest gossip from Seaview High. After awhile Jake noticed that Miley wasn't anywhere to be seen and excused himself to try and find her.

Jake found Miley out on the porch looking out at the water with tears in her eyes. He had never seen her so vulnerable or so beautiful. He knew it probably wasn't his place to try and comfort her but he would do anything he could to make this girl smile again. He approach slowly as not to scare her. He coughed slightly making his presence known.

"Miley? Are you all right?" he asked softly.

"Ah…. Jake." Miley said wiping her eyes and turning towards him.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just… every time we have this party I tend to lose it for about 10 minutes and you just happened to find me during that time I guess." She said still trying to dry her eyes completely.

"Is there something the matter?" He asked sitting on the railing next to her.

"Oh. It's ok. Don't worry yourself about it. It's nothing important." Miley said trying to put on a smile.

Jake looked her in the eyes. "Miley…please don't do that. I know something is wrong. Maybe it would help to talk about it." Jake said as reassuringly as he could.

After a minute of no response Jake continued. "Come on I promise it will feel better after you get it out."

"Argh." Miley got out. She turned to look at him with a small smile on her face. "You're still impossible, you know?" "You're not going to give up until I tell you are you?" She asked with a slight smile.

Jake shrugged. "Probably not….but I'd blame my day job on that one. I mean I've had to slay some of the Zombies on my show 10 times before they finally go through the portal to the underworld." Jake said with a completely serious face.

Miley really laughed at this. "Do you always talk about slaying Zombies when you find a girl crying on the porch?"

"Only with the special one's," he replied with a smirk.

"Now… tell the Zombie slayer what's bugging you."

Miley laughed again as he referred to himself as "The Zombie Slayer."

"Alright. I mean it's really nothing. It's just that… we only started having these parties the year my mom passed away from Cancer." She said quietly.

"My Aunt Dolly was the one who first started them back in Tennessee. I think she knew that Christmas would be really hard on our family that year. So…she decided to throw us a party. She had all of the people who really loved us come around brining food and presents and we played lots of silly games and sang songs." "I guess she didn't want us kids to start thinking of Christmas as a sad thing just because mom wasn't there… so she filled our house with as much joy and happiness as she could." Miley shrugged "Since then it kind of stuck. We've changed it around a bit but the premise is always the same."

"And…sometimes…I don't know. I always just wish she were here to see all of this. She was always so filled with excitement, and happiness and she had this spirit for life that was just incredible. I know that she really would have enjoyed being here and meeting all these people who care so much about me and our family." Miley finished looking out at the ocean from the porch as a small tear made its way down her cheek.

Jake was astonished and very happy that Miley had shared all of that with him. He knew that it meant that he could tell her of his own troubles when the time was right. He looked at the beautiful girl that sat next to him and realized that he was more in awe of her than he had ever been before.

The image of her singing Christmas carols to the kids at the Cancer center flooded back to his mind. It was so much more meaningful and so much more heart wrenching now that he realized how hard it must have been for her to sit there in the hospital and be reminded of her own mother passing away from the disease. The fact that she had been so strong amazed him. He ached to hold her and relieve her of every pain she had ever had.

He wished there was something he could do or say that would make the pain go away but he knew there was nothing to say or do that could change the situation.

So he did the only thing that he could think of. He told her the truth.

He looked at her seriously and took her hand in his.

Jake looked at her and slowly brought her face around to look at him. "Miley. I know it's got to be hard that she's not here in the flesh to see this but trust me…She IS here." He said with conviction.

Miley shrugged not completely satisfied with his answer, "Yeah I know Jake. If there is a heaven she's up there watching down on me." She answered softly.

He looked back into her eyes. "No….I mean..yes…she probably is…but that's not quite what I mean. I mean I may have never met your mom, but, I didn't have to meet her to recognize that spirit for life that you were describing... because ….well because I see it every time I look at you." Jake was blushing slightly at this but continued.

"I mean you're an amazing singer and we all know that you're funny and smart and beautiful but…. it's that spark that you have that makes everyone fall in love with you …and I have to believe that your mom helped give you that."

Miley looked into his eyes and realized probably for the first time that Jake was one of the few people on the planet who really saw her. It wasn't like everyone else who saw her as either Hannah or Miley. It wasn't like it was with Lilly and Oliver who saw her as their strong and funny celebrity friend who could handle just about anything. With her dad and Jackson she could be more vulnerable but….there was always a big exception. She never really felt like she could be vulnerable about her mom in front of them. She hated seeing their eyes fall when they talked about her so Miley had kept her thoughts mostly to herself. But with Jake she didn't have to be the strong celebrity or the strong daughter that her friends and family had come to depend on…she could just be Miley…the girl who was all of those things as well as a girl who sometimes needed a hand to hold when she talked about the mom that she missed deeply.

Miley sat there stunned not knowing how to tell Jake what his words had meant to her. "Jake….I just don't know what to say….that's the single nicest…I mean…no one…I mean….well…."

"Thanks." She finally managed. Miley gave him the one thing that she had that was truly hers…she gave him a real smile.

**Hey Guys….Please Review and let me know if you like or not. PLEASE! See me beg? It's not pretty. Honestly...I can't make it better unless you tell me what's good and what's bad.**


	5. Twisted Christmas Part II

**Hey Guys-**

**First off thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. It was the most fun to write thus far. I'm sorry that I didn't get to post sooner but I was having a Harry Potter hiatus. Don't worry I won't put any spoilers if you haven't finished the book but I just thought that I should put a tiny little bit of my appreciation for JK's amazing works in writing…as I finished the books I felt an overwhelming sense of the magic that she has created and has been with me for nearly a decade. My continual thanks to her and her inspiration are beyond words. She is the spark that has ignited a generation of readers and writers to feel free to imagine. There is no better accomplishment than that she has given us. **

**Chapter 6**

**Jackson's POV**

Jackson had spent most of his evening with his attention divided between talking to Jake's very attractive and funny older sister and watching his baby sister. He had seen and heard much of Miley and Jake's conversation from the balcony of his room. He had felt sad that he hadn't had enough courage to go and comfort Miley when she had been thinking about their mom. He knew that she would get sad tonight…she always did at these parties… he just couldn't bring himself to relive some of the painful memories himself. It's not that he didn't have some of the same thoughts as Miley… he just couldn't let her see him lose control. He had always been the big brother when dealing with losing their mom, making Miley laugh even if he were crying inside as well. He was happy to see that Jake had the courage to comfort his sister. What had surprised him though was how well he had comforted her.

Jackson thought back to himself as a sixteen year old and thought it would have been a miracle for him not to run away screaming from a crying girl but Jake had not only not run away but he had listened to her and understood Miley better than almost anyone else. Jackson was as astounded as Miley looked when Jake mentioned that he knew that the lively spirit that Miley had was in part given to her by their mom.

In Jackson's opinion the guy couldn't have been more dead on. He could see so much of his mom in Miley that it was sometimes easy to forget that she was really gone. Although he rarely admitted it to anyone he loved to hear his sister laugh. Maybe it's partially why he always acted like a goofball around her but every time he heard that laugh his mom was there with them again.

Now it was Jake that was making her laugh. After the two of them had talked for awhile about how hard it had been for Miley Jake had somehow managed to get her to talk about some of their best times as kids. Their mom making them chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, her ability to use donuts, icing, waffle cones and anything else sugary to decorate birthday cakes, or how she decided to chop off Robbie Rae's mullet in his sleep when she couldn't stand it anymore. Jackson was impressed.

After their conversation on the porch he continued to watch them through dinner. Essentially everyone got to unwrap a few of the wrapped packages that had been brought by all the guests. Jake had gotten apple pie and mashed potatoes. Miley had unwrapped rolls and gravy. Lilly had gotten cranberry relish and part of a jello mold. Oliver had gotten pees in both of his containers (he of course hated pees). Jackson was sharing brownies, a part of a turkey leg and some carrots with Jake's older sister. Jackson couldn't help but notice that throughout dinner both Jake and Miley seemed to be more than content to sit rather close to one another sharing food, and giving each other shy smiles.

After dinner the group of them had moved into the living room to have their own photo shoot with the photographer.

Jackson knew this would be a good opportunity to help Jake put the smiles back on Miley's face. Jackson proceeded to run around in his reindeer costume pretending to dance with some of the stuffed snowmen and a few of the elves as the photographer clicked on. This had gotten him some good laughs from both Sarah and Miley and some odd looks from Jake and Oliver. In his opinion Oliver was in no place to judge after what Lilly had gotten him to wear.

Lilly and Oliver had joined in the fun adding heavy sunglasses to their outfits and posing like wrappers.

To Jackson's surprise it was Sarah who had found the cardboard cutout of Jake wearing an I heart Miley t-shirt and added it to the photographic mayhem. The two of them took turns adding dresses or bikinis to the cutout for their different pictures. His masterpiece had been when he decided to dress the cardboard Jake up with a white miniskirt, sparkly pink top and Hannah wig.

This had gotten him lots of laughs from Sarah, Oliver, Lilly and especially Miley.

His victory was short lived as the real blonde zombie slayer decided to hit on the now girl version of himself. As he approached the cutout putting his arm slyly around "her" and saying "Hey gorgeous! Where have you been all my life?" Lilly and Miley were reduced to tears as they laughed themselves silly.

Jackson of course had enjoyed the joke as well but he was more surprised by the fact it wasn't until he saw Miley nearly in tears with laughter that he realized how long it had been since he had really seen her this excited and happy. And if he admitted it to himself it was mostly due to the presence of Jake. He was doing anything he could to see her laugh. This had always been Jackson's area of expertise but as Jake and Oliver switched costumes so that Jake was now not only wearing the inner tube of stuffed geese but petting them tenderly and naming them he could see that there might be someone else who could make his sister happy when she really needed it.

Jackson knew that the reason that Jake and Miley had broken up previously was that Jake had been a real jerk in public. He hoped for Miley's sake that he had changed this part of his life. He knew his sister deserved to be happy and it was obvious to him at least that Jake was the only guy to come around so far that had even come close to fulfilling that order.

Sarah's POV

Her heart soared and broke for her brother as she watched him with Miley. The chemistry between the two was incredible. The more time they spent together the happier the two of them seemed to be. Jake had been funny and sweet and there was no hint of the celebrity persona that he usually had to put on when in public. He was being the guy that she thought only she really knew and it was this guy that Miley seemed to light up for.

She sighed. She wanted nothing more than for her brother to be really happy and she knew that his definition of happy would now include having Miley in his life. She just wasn't sure how this romance would fit in with their current situation. She hoped that they would be able to work things out.

Miley's POV-

She and Jake had spent nearly the entire night together. He had taken her from sadness to tingling with excitement. It was if they had never been apart and their nasty breakup had never happened. They were talking to each other as if they knew everything about the other. She had thought that things would be awkward between them but everything felt natural with Jake. He was giving her one of the best times of her life and somehow she knew without needing proof that he had changed. The ego was gone.

Soft music had started in the background. She could sense him approaching her from behind.

The soft way that he placed his hand at the small of her back sent tingles to her skin. The look of his eyes when they held hers as he leaned in to ask her to dance made everything else disappear. The way they fell into motion together as he took her in his arms forced the last fragments of stress and worry that had earlier consumed her to disappear. The feeling that she got as she brought her eyes back to his steadily encircled in his arms let her know that the thing she had been waiting for had finally found her.

Jake's POV

She was the only thing he could see. If his mind had been working he would be thinking that this was terrible timing. He would be thinking that he should distance himself from her to save them both from getting hurt. But he had no control.

Her eyes found his.

His lips met hers.

His mind had lost.

His heart had taken over.


	6. Twisted Christmas Part III

**Thanks again to all reviewers. I appreciate it more than you know. For those of you who might just read without reviewing…I know who you are! Just kidding…enjoy the story as well but if you have the time please review!**

**Disclaimer. I solemnly swear I own nothing except plot.**

Chapter 7-

The beach

**Miley's POV**

She didn't know how it had happened. Two days ago what had she been? Was she happy? Was she content? She honestly couldn't think of what she was just two days ago. Then… she had seen him. She hadn't expected that. Just as she hadn't expected to be standing here in his arms kissing him softly.

She couldn't think about how lonely she had been. She couldn't think about how she shouldn't have let her guard down. She couldn't think.

But she could feel. She loved the feeling of being in his arms. She loved how he made her feel comfortable and yet excited at the same time. She loved how no one else made her feel anything compared to this.

She loved him.

**Jake's POV**

The kiss had been excruciatingly soft but it had sent alarm bells throughout every inch of him. He felt alive again. He had been dodging life, hiding from people and trying to ignore his problems. Unfortunately hiding from that also meant hiding from her. He couldn't hide anymore.

He loved her.

**Normal POV**

They broke the kiss and separated from each other slightly, both breathing more deeply than they had before.

Jake needed her to know everything.

"Miley…I…I want to tell you something." Jake said at a whisper still not being able to tear his eyes away from hers.

Miley could only nod. She took his hands and started to lead them outside. Before they reached the door Jake took a step to the side to speak to his sister.

She had been laughing at something that Jackson was telling her.

"Hey Sarah…Miley and I are going to go for a walk. I'll meet you back at the house alright?"

Sarah's laughter had died down. She had looked at her brother and her eyes saddened. She seemed to understand what was happening. She nodded.

A sense of fear started invading the warm glow around Miley's heart. She wasn't sure what he was going to tell her but she knew that it was important.

They walked near the water and sat in the sand still holding each others hand.

Jake took a big breath and looked at her, sadness filing his eyes. "Listen Miley….since I saw you two days ago I have known without a single doubt that I want to be with you. I want to be the guy who gets to hold your hand when you're sad, and make you laugh when you need it, and be there for you…. just in case." He paused as if gaining strength for the next part of his speech. They both knew there was a next part.

"But…things with my family….they've changed since we last saw each other… and I might be leaving Malibu again soon…and I don't know if I'll be coming back." Jake said looking at the sand.

The sadness that was in his eyes was now reflected in hers. She didn't say anything. She just waited for him to explain.

"Listen…after we broke up….everything started going down hill. I was depressed, my sister was gone away at college and my parents were fighting all the time."

"I guess I was a bit too wrapped up with my own problems that I didn't notice how back things had gotten with my parents. A few weeks after we broke up my mom left me and my dad without saying anything."

Jake took a breath and prepared himself to tell his story. "At first…. my dad and I dealt with it by trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, but it was obvious that my dad hated how quiet the house had become."

"So…. after awhile he started drinking as a way to forget what had been."

"And well….he would get angry when he was drinking."

"He never hit me or anything but he would yell at me all the time, slam doors or throw things just to hear them smash against the wall."

"It was terrible. I felt like I didn't have anyone anymore so I started using my disguise all the time….not to be normal… but to hide away from my dad and from my fans who always just expected me to be happy."

"I guess I got good at it. I would go away for hours at a time and just sit in different restaurants and cafes just thinking and not wanting to go home."

He paused and looked at her. "I know you never thought I'd be able to wait for a beverage but I would wait hours at places just so that I could make sure he was asleep when I got home."

"I actually love to wait for things now…you'd be proud." Miley noticed his slight attempt at masking his pain with humor and gave his hand a squeeze as he continued.

He sighed. "Eventually waiting around didn't work anymore because he would just wake up and remember that I hadn't been there the night before to yell at and he would start all over again. That's when I started taking any role I could get that would get me out of Los Angeles."

"When Sarah came home on visits she started noticing my dad's drinking. It was never as bad when she was there so she started making excuses to come home whenever I'd be back from my movies."

"She couldn't stand to see how much I hated it there."

"Anyway… it was Sarah who finally found my mom and told her what was going on. Mom was shocked. Dad had never really done any drinking while they were married and she was just so unhappy when she left that she figured we would be better off with my Dad."

"But now she's getting married to a guy in New York and she wants us to come out there and live with her. And…. I've decided that I need to do this. I just…I just don't think I can live with my Dad anymore." Jake finished again looking at the sand in front of him too afraid of meeting the eyes of the girl in front of him.

Mileys heart had been breaking for Jake. She couldn't believe what he had been through the past few years. She wished that she had been there for him but she could see now that the way they had broken up probably made him think that she wouldn't want to help him. God she wished that he knew how untrue that was. She realized that he didn't really have a choice. He couldn't stay in a house where someone tormented him day and night just to be with her. She would have to be happy with knowing that he did want to be with her…as much as she wanted to be with him.

"Jake…I'm so sorry about your dad." She said. "I wish that you had told me about this sooner. I would have done anything to help you." She said squeezing his hands tightly.

"So I guess we have pretty awful timing don't we?" She said not knowing how to tell him how she felt and let him go at the same time.

Jake looked at her. "Miley….I'd give anything for this to be different."

"Yeah?" She smiled playfully for the first time since they had come out to the beach.

"And if things were different what would you be doing right now to sweep me off my feet?" She said dreamily putting her head on his shoulder and looking out at the ocean.

Jake's heart warmed. He could tell that she was changing the subject to try and brighten his mood. He loved how their roles had reversed and it was now Miley's who was making him feel better.

"I think…. I'd like to take you on the most amazing date you'd ever been on." Jake replied looking down at Miley's face on his shoulder.

Miley sighed slightly and smirked. "Well you know you'd have a lot to live up to…I mean I once dated a guy who sent me every gift basket imaginable, bought me a star and even dressed up as a night in shining armor to show how much he cared about me."

Jake sighed looking down at Miley realizing that he would do anything for the girl next to him. "I have a feeling I could've beaten that." He replied with both confidence and regret in his voice.

Miley's eyes sombered as she realized that none of the little gestures that he had done for her 2 years ago could even compare with what he had done for her tonight. He had been there when she most needed it most and made her laugh and smile more than she had in a very long time. She couldn't bear to think of how much she would miss not having that in her life anymore. She tilted her head up off his shoulder and looked at him. "Yeah….I think you're right"

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!! I beg again. **

**This is not the end of this story…so if you want to make sure to get the rest of it please add me to story alert since I'm leaving for vacation on Friday and won't be near a computer to update for over a week. **


	7. The morning after

**Chapter 8 – The morning after**

**Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait but I was on vacation and then got really sick when I got back. Anyway here we go! Remember read and review. **

**Disclaimer: Get ready for the shock of your life…..I don't own Hannah Montana. Wow. I hope you're still breathing.**

**Miley's POV**

After Jake had left the party Miley had tried to put on a good face for the rest of the guests. She had gone back and danced with Lilly and Oliver for awhile and even let people persuade her to sing but her heart was no longer into the party. She felt completely deflated. Her evening had gone from sad to amazing and then to empty all in one night. She couldn't blame Jake for needing to leave and go live with his mom but she just couldn't stop herself from desperately wanting there to be someway that she could still be in his life. He had said that he had wanted to be with her. She wanted that as well.

She also knew that it was already hard on him making the choice to go and live with his mom and get away from his father. She wouldn't….no…she couldn't get in the way of that. She would do what was best for him. She would somehow put all those feelings that she had for him in the back of her mind. She would be his friend for the little time they had left together and hope that would be enough. She knew it wasn't what she wanted at all but…. she had to do what she could to help him. She loved him and needed him to be happy…even if it was without her in his life.

**Jake's POV**

After Jake had left the party he had gone back to his dad's house. He had gone straight to bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling thinking. He was still there lying on his back in the same clothes he had worn the night before when Sarah came into the room the next morning.

"So I take it things didn't go well last night huh?" Sarah asked as she came and sat on the bed next to her brother.

Still looking at the ceiling Jake replied "You could say that….yes."

Sarah looked sadly at her brother. "Did she at least understand?"

Jake sat up and looked at his sister appearing pretty annoyed. "Oh yeah. She understood perfectly. She was sorry about what had happened with our family and she thinks that me moving to New York is the right thing to do. That's the entire problem!" Jake's voice started to raise.

"She so goddamn perfect that she wasn't even mad at me! She wants me to be happy! She wants me to have my family again!" Jake was now pacing around his room flailing his arms as he spoke.

"She even tried to make me feel better about all this….she made me laugh about it for god sakes!"

"Do you realize that no one but you has been able to do that for me since all this started to happen?"

"So….I guess this means you're pretty upset." Sarah said dryly pretending to examine her fingernails, trying to state the obvious in an attempt to calm him down a bit.

Jake looked at her and immediately deflated. He sighed and all the fight went out of him. "I just hate this," he admitted running a hand through his hair.

"I just….I mean…..I've never cared about anyone like this before and I HATE that I have to give it up…..AGAIN!" He stated as he flopped back down on the bed.

Sarah looked at him motheringly and placed her hand on his arm. "Jake…listen…I wouldn't give up hope completely….things might change." Sarah said giving him a half hearted smile.

Jake looked up at her giving her a deathglare. "Really? Cause if you've got any ideas I'd love to hear them. I've been staring at this ceiling all night trying to think of ways that I could stay here and be with her without going crazy and so far I haven't come up with anything."

After a few seconds of thinking Sarah opened her mouth again…"Well you could…..I mean maybe….." She finally stopped. "Ok…I got nothing."

Jake rubbed his tired eyes again. "Exactly."

**Miley's POV**

Miley had called Lilly over for some help with her Jake situation. She was secretly hoping that Lilly would be able to come up with a plan that would let the two of them work things out…this was what best friends were for right? They sat in the empty kitchen eating the remaining leftovers.

"So you're saying that he wants to be with you?" Lilly said trying to wrap her brain around the situation.

"Yes." Miley said half heartedly dipping her spoon into a tupperwear of apple cobbler.

"And you want to be with him too?" Lilly asked.

Miley just dropped her spoon and gave Lilly a decent death glare. 

"Ok…. I'll take that as a yes." Lilly answered.

"But to be together Jake would have to stay here and live with his dad who basically does nothing but yell and throw things?"

"Yup." Miley managed.

"So you want to know if there is anyway that the two of you could be together?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah…and just so you know if you can figure out a plan that could work you can basically name your price." She said trying to see if the image of her Hannah closet would help the cogs turn in Lilly's head.

Lilly waited awhile with her finger to her lips thinking hard. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she raised her finger to the sky. Then she lowered it and sighed.

"I got nothing."

Miley had let her head fall onto the counter.

"Me either."

**Thanks for waiting. The next chappie is coming soon but PLEASE read and review and if you like this story tell your friends. I will be redoing the beginning at some point since it's a bit hard to read for the first 2 chapters. Anyway REVIEW!**


	8. Goodbye

**Chapter 9**

**Wooo Hooo! I've reached the more than 50 reviews mark. Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed. I really appreciated it. Keep it up and I'll keep the story going quickly!**

**Disclaimer: You know what goes here. Nothing has changed. I don't own the characters from the tv show.**

**Miley's POV **

The next few days were some of the hardest in Miley's life. She wanted to spend time with Jake but she had made it perfectly clear to him that they should only be friends since it would be hard enough as it is to say goodbye.

But being friends with Jake was a lot harder than she ever thought possible.

When they went to the movies with Lilly and Oliver she spent the entire time wishing that she could move her hand the 6 inches it would take to place her hand in his.

When they were at the beach she had to pretend that she didn't want to murder the senior girls who came up to her and asked if she knew if Jake had a girlfriend. She also hated the feeling of her heart breaking when she told them truthfully that he didn't.

She had almost had a good time when she had gone bowling with Jake, Sarah and Jackson. But when she and Jake had beaten Jackson and Sarah by a single pin and he had picked her up and swung her around she had remembered what it felt like to be in his arms. She hated how much she loved…and missed that feeling.

What she hated most of all was that she knew that Jake hated being friends as much as she did. She could see it in his eyes when the girls had approached him at the beach. He made his excuses to them saying that he wasn't interested in dating but she could tell by his eyes that he really just didn't want anyone but her. She could feel it when he had placed her down on the ground after bowling and knew that he would have given anything to be able to kiss her.

She hated this…but surprisingly this was better than nothing. He still made her laugh. He still made her feel amazing about herself. He still could anticipate what she was thinking without even trying. He was still considerate and wonderful. He was still Jake.

Despite the ups and the downs of the past week she knew that nothing would hurt more than tonight. They had agreed that they would say goodbye tonight. Tonight was the 30th of December. They would spend New Year's Eve apart since they had an unspoken understanding that it would be far too much temptation to spend the holiday together. Jake and Sarah were planning on flying out on the evening of the first. So tonight would be the last time to see each other. She still didn't know what she'd say to him but she was glad that they wouldn't be left alone. Jackson and Sarah would also be going to dinner with them.

**Jake's POV**

Absolutely nothing made sense anymore. He was moving out of his dad's house. He hoped he would be leaving the pain behind him, but now that he was leaving the house he was experiencing an entirely new pain. He hadn't left yet but he already missed Miley…. and it was excruciating. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to say goodbye. He didn't want to imagine it. His heart was already breaking. She had always been wonderful in his mind but the problems that they had the last time they dated had disappeared. He had learned how to be a normal person. Well… actually he had been forced to learn it to avoid his father. But now he knew that he could be the guy that Miley had wanted to be with 2 years ago. He knew he could be the guy that she needed now. He hated that he was going to walk away.

**Normal POV**

Dinner had gone fairly well. They had gone to a lively Mexican restaurant near Miley and Jackson's house and ordered half the menu. They had told the waitress that it was Jackson's birthday so that he was brought a cheap sombrero and everyone had sung and gotten free dessert. As they brought out their ice cream however the atmosphere changed considerably. Both Miley and Jake had become silent, neither laughing or adding to the conversation going on between their siblings. They were eating slowly, casting nervous glances at each other. Both were acutely aware of how close dinner was to ending and neither wanted that ending to come.

They all walked back to the house. Miley separated herself from the others and leaned against the railing looking out toward the ocean. Jackson said goodnight and walked into the house. Sarah looked at Jake and then at Miley and with a slight squeeze of his arm to give him good luck it was silently understood that she would wait for Jake in the car until he was ready. Jake took a deep breath and joined Miley by the railing.

"So…." He said looking down at his hands.

"So…" She said still staring out at the ocean willing herself not to look at him.

Jake reached out and took her hand. He loved how soft it felt in his. He barely realized that his own hands were nearly shaking. He didn't know how to tell her what he was feeling and he knew that nothing he could say would make this easy for either of them.

He sighed and told her what he was feeling. "Listen…Miley…I've tried to think of what to say tonight for the past week and still I have no idea what it is that I'm supposed to say in this situation."

She looked at him and felt the sadness welling up inside of her.

"I hate having to say goodbye to you." He said softly with pain in his voice.

Miley nodded. "I don't want you to say it either." She replied. "I think it will make it even harder if I have to hear you say it." She paused to collect herself and continued.

"Maybe….Maybe you should just go." She said softly feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't bear to look him in the eye anymore. She knew that those eyes would haunt her.

Jake just nodded sadly. He took his hand and ran it down her face briefly brushing aside the small tear that had fallen down her cheek. He leaned his head towards her face and paused with his mouth near her ear.

"You're amazing." He said softly and slowly pulled back.

He briefly caught her eyes in his and using every ounce of strength that he had… he turned and walked away from her.

**Well hmmmm…..do you think this is the end??? READ AND REVIEW to find out!!!!!!**


	9. Regrets

**Hey Guys-**

**Sorry if there were technical difficulties with the last chapter. It was all my fault. I decided to combine the first two chapters and it screwed up the numbering for the rest of the story so some people couldn't see the chapter and some couldn't review at all. So for those of you with the first problem you might want to start with chapter 8 and make sure you've actually read it and for everyone who tried to review and couldn't I really appreciate it and it should work this time….so once again Please REVIEW. A special thanks goes out to those of you who couldn't review but sent me messages anyway…you definitely ROCK!**

**Disclaimer: Yada Yada Yada. I don't own the characters.**

**Jake's POV**

Jake wanted nothing more than to turn around, go back to Miley, and kiss her senseless. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to show her that she had changed him, that she had been the one to show him that being a movie star didn't mean anything if there weren't people who cared about the real you in your life. But he didn't.

He didn't turn around. He didn't go and kiss her. He hadn't even told her how he really felt about her. Instead he was leaving her. And it was breaking him.

He walked slowly through the cool night air towards the car shaking his head and laughing sadly to himself. He had survived his father's rantings. He had survived months away from anyone he cared about while on movie set after movie set in order to avoid his father's house. He had survived his mother leaving him. But he didn't want to…he couldn't survive this.

He was terrified of leaving his future happiness back there on the porch.

He was angry at himself for not finding a way to make it work.

He was desperate for SOMETHING to go right in his life.

And he was tired. Tired of watching the things he cared about most in his life disappear. First his mom, then his dad, and now for the second time in his life he let Miley go.

With a deep breath he opened the car door where Sarah was waiting for him.

"Jake…." Sarah tried with a soft voice full of concern and regret for her brother.

Jake just shook his head. "There's nothing we can do about it and you know it…so lets just go back….ok?" He replied with his eyes fixed outside the passenger side window so that Sarah wouldn't see his eyes glistening with unshed tears and heartbreaking frustration.

Sarah just reconciled herself and turned on the car.

There was silence the rest of the way back.

**Miley's POV**

As Jake turned away Miley's eyes closed and she turned away not wanting to watch him leave. She hated herself at the moment. She hated that she hadn't tried to help him be normal 2 years ago when she had the chance…when _they_ had a chance. She hated how she hadn't realized how lucky she had been to find a guy who cared about her as much as he did when she had the chance. She hated that she had CHOSEN to let him go 2 years ago. And NOW there were no more choices. There were no more chances. And he had left. And she felt…. empty.

**Jackson's POV**

Jackson watched sadly as his little sister tried to keep it together out on the porch. She wasn't crying her eyes out or yelling or any of the other things that he would have expected as a normal teenage girl reaction to their almost-boyfriends leaving. She just looked….lost.

It wasn't until that moment that he realized how being around Jake had really affected her. When they were together she had somehow become even more funny, more beautiful, and more filled with life than Jackson had ever seen. But now….now the energy that always seemed to light her from within was gone.

He had seen her looking this way a few times before… but only when she was thinking about their mom. It was then that it hit him. The reason she wasn't acting like some lovesick teenager was because this wasn't just some guy. This wasn't a little fling. The reason that she had looked so much more beautiful around him was simple…. she loved him.

He sighed and shook his head. He knew he should go out there and say something that would make her feel better. But he didn't know anything to say to her. He thought back to the Christmas party and thought rather ironically that the only person who would really know what to say to make his sister feel better in a situation like this….was Jake.

He went out onto the porch anyway.

"You know…if it helps… I'll let you keep my sombrero." Jackson offered coming and standing next to her.

Miley sighed and gave a tiny laugh trying to respond to her brothers attempt at making her laugh. "Nah. You keep it….it looks better on you anyway."

She turned and Jackson brought her into a brotherly hug.

"Thanks for trying though….I just think it might take a bit more than funny head gear to get over this one." She said as she hugged him.

"Yeah, but funny head gear never hurt did it?"

She just smiled a little and let him hug her tightly for awhile as he tried to shield her from the pain that they both knew she was feeling.

**Whew. That one was hard to write. PLEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE REVIEW!!!!!!! I do this for all of you out there who are enjoying this story so let me know if you are. And for all of you out there who are despairing at this point in the story….just keep the faith…I'm sure there's a silver lining coming up soon. ;)**


	10. New Years Eve

**Disclaimer: Still don't own.**

Sarah had accepted an invitation from Jackson to go to a party for New Years Eve. They had become fairly good friends over the last week after spending a lot of time as a foursome with Miley and Jake. They were sitting on his friend Coopers porch listening to the music that was playing around them. It was slightly cold but Cooper had an amazing view of the water and guaranteed a good spot for the midnight fireworks.

"So…how did Jake handle saying goodbye?" Jackson asked her.

Sarah sighed. They had talked quite a bit about their siblings over the past week. Both of them wanted to see them happy and it was quite obvious that neither of them actually were.

"He's pretty bad. He was supposed to go to some celebrity party tonight but he opted just to stay at home."

"I'm pretty sure he'll still be moping around when I get home." She said.

Jackson looked truly saddened by this. "Yeah well… Miley wasn't much better. It took Lilly 2 hours to convince her that she'd feel better if she went out with them tonight." Jackson commented.

"I guess the bright side of all of this is that you and Jake will be getting out of that house for good." Jackson said with a bit of anger in his voice. He knew all about their situation from Sarah and was happy that she would be moving her permanent residence to New York even though she would still finish her degree out here.

Sarah sighed. "Yeah. I guess so. But regardless I don't think it's going to be easy for any of us. Neither of us have met mom's new boyfriend and that is going to be strange no matter what. Then you add in the fact that my brother is going to be pining away all the time for your sister… and I just don't think that New York is going to be much of a happy place for him."

"Well even if it is awkward at least YOU won't have to be there all the time." Jackson added.

Sarah nodded.

"I just hate that I'll be leaving Jake out there by himself most of the time." Sarah said sadly.

"Jake's not a little kid anymore Sarah." Jackson added with a knowing look. "I'm sure he can take care of himself most of the time."

Sarah sighed. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. He kept quiet about my dad and his drinking for 6 months after mom left. I just don't want him putting himself in a bad situation anymore." Sarah replied.

"Listen. I'm sure it won't be bad like that at all. It might be awkward but from what I know about the situation it doesn't sound like your mom would be the type of person to KNOWINGLY put you guys in that situation."

Sarah nodded. "I know she wouldn't do that on purpose…but really neither Jake or I are on very good terms with her. Jake especially isn't going to be able to trust her very easily after she left us like that. It's just… a tough situation all around." She said slumping her shoulders.

Seeing the sad look on Sarah's face as she contemplated leaving her brother with their mom Jackson decided to look on the bright side.

"Well… it's not like he'll be really alone. He knows that you'll always be there for him. Plus… maybe Jake can come and visit you if it gets bad out there." Jackson suggested.

Sarah shrugged again, "Yeah…. Well…. unfortunately I'm supposed to live in a single on campus next semester so there's not much room for visitors." She replied.

"You didn't want a place off campus?" Jackson asked looking a bit shocked that anyone in Jake's family would live in a tiny on-campus room.

"Well I would love to but I can't really afford my own place here in LA…and my parents won't help out with the extra expense since they don't see it as a school related."

Jackson laughed at this. "Well it's not like your brother isn't loaded or anything…I'd just get him to hire you as his personal stylist or something and then I'm sure you'd be able to afford your own place." "Just tell him it's a big sister tax or something." He said jokingly.

For a moment Sarah remained very still. She was definitely thinking about something that Jackson had said. After a moment her eyes lit up. "OH MY GOD..That's IT!"

She grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him fiercely on the lips. As soon as she let go she grabbed her bag and ran out the door.

**Sorry that was so short but I'm a few chapters ahead working on the ending. So bear with me if the next few aren't brilliant. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review! **


	11. A plan

**So…now to find out what Sarah's idea was…**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the characters I would probably be vacationing on some island with tikki huts and really cute cabana boys. Damn….i'm still here at my computer….get the picture?**

**Jake's POV**

Jake was in his room staring up at the ceiling again. He hadn't bothered changing out of the boxers and tee shirt that he had worn to bed the night before….he knew he wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. There was no reason to. He was just counting down the minutes until they would leave, not that it would make anything better. It was just the next thing he would do.

He heard the front door burst open.

He jumped up. Adrenaline and terror had shaken him out of his stupor. Had his father come back a few days early? Was he already in a rage?

His heart beat slowed as he realized that it was Sarah's voice that was shouting his name from the floor below.

"JAKE!" She screamed.

He ran out of the room and down the stairs and found her in the living room.

"Are you alright?" He said anxiously. He had never seen Sarah this worked up about anything.

Sarah was bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath she had obviously run home.

"I think I've figured it out." She said in between breaths.

"Figured what out?" He said calming down now that it was obvious that she wasn't dying or running from a madman.

"You and Miley." She managed still trying to catch her breath.

"What about me and Miley?" He asked with his full attention on his sister.

"How you guys can be together." She said finally smiling and with her breathing steady.

"What do you mean?" Jake said not even trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Sarah looked at him excitedly "Actually it was Jackson's idea." "I've wanted to move off campus for awhile now but mom and dad won't pay for anything above what the dorms cost and my job just won't cover it….but if I had a roommate…."

Jake's eyes saddened and he interrupted his sister. "Sarah…we've been over this. I don't have any control over my money until I turn 18. It's the whole reason that we couldn't get a place together earlier when dad started freaking out, remember?"

"Of course I remember….it's the whole reason that I went on my crusade to find mom. But things have changed since then Jake."

"And what exactly has changed?" He looked at her skeptically. "My legal guardian still has control over my money and since mom just got custody that means it's her now." Jake said trying not to get too upset about Sarah getting his hopes up.

"Yeah but when that happened mom had dad removed as your business manager….and in the agreement it says that you get to name your new manager!" Sarah spat out nearly bursting with excitement.

"So?" Jake asked his arms crossed in front of him looking as clueless as ever.

"So….Hire ME!" She said getting excited.

"Listen I have absolutely no qualifications or anything but neither did dad and you still did 3 movies last year basically on your own." "PLUS with the money you were paying dad we could afford an actual apartment and you wouldn't have to live with mom if you didn't want to!"

"WE could BOTH stay here! You could be with MILEY Jake!"

The wheels had started turning in his head. He understood what she was saying. If he named her as his manager he could pay her enough money to support them both. Excitement started to work its way through Jake's body. The thought was just too wonderful to believe. He stood in the living room in complete shock.

The excitement that was in his eyes suddenly faded. He looked back at Sarah.

"There's only one problem….mom will never go for it and she would have to give me permission to live here with you even if we did have the money for everything."

Sarah's mood had changed from bubbling with excitement to one of confrontational anger. 

"Jake Ryan! Please don't tell me that after EVERYTHING that you've gone through you're just going to give up just like that! Mom might not be thrilled with the idea of us living together but she OWE'S us after what she did. And besides as long as you can still sign contracts with just you and your manager you can take work WHEREVER you want to so even if she were against it you could just take roles here and she wouldn't be able to do ANYTHING about it."

Sarah had been pacing around the living room as if the motion was helping her work out the implications of what they were going to do. She stopped in front of Jake sufficiently worked up.

"So if you care about this girl HALF as much as you think you do get off your BUTT and FIGHT FOR HER!" Sarah yelled handing him her cell phone.

What Sarah had said was true. He had been using roles to get him out of LA for over a year now. If his mom wasn't thrilled about them living together he and Sarah could always use that to get him back here. His breathing had started to quicken along with his heartbeat. It could work! He wouldn't have to go and live with him mom who had left him and some guy that he hadn't even met yet.

He could stay here…he could be with Miley! Seeing her the last week had been great but they weren't fooling anyone with their "just friends" act. Neither one of them really wanted to be friends AT ALL. Maybe this way they could move past that.

Images of her started flashing through his mind. Miley in her Christmas costume laughing while they took pictures, her sitting out on the porch with tears in her eyes, the way she smiled that lit up a room, the look in her eyes before he had kissed her. He WOULD make this work. He had to.

Jake took the cell phone and the excitement returned to his eyes. The thought of being with Miley outweighed everything else at the moment.

Suddenly Jake turned and grabbed his sister spinning her around the room. "You're amazing! You know that! Absolutely amazing!"

"You know I'll be your slave for life after this right?" Jake said lifting her off the ground again and happily dancing around the room from a sheer overdose of excitement and joy.

Sarah was smiling nearly as largely as Jake was.

"Well…there had to be something in it for me now didn't there?" She said jokingly.

Jake's expression sobered and he stopped spinning her around. It had finally hit him how much Sarah was doing for HIM.

"Wait…..Are YOU sure you're ok with this?" He asked her knowing full well that most college students wouldn't be too thrilled about the prospect of living with their younger brothers.

Sarah just looked at him and smiled.

"Jake you're my brother and I love you. And to be honest the idea of dropping you off on mom's doorstep with a new step father and family to deal with has been torturing me. This way we'll get to work things out with mom on our own terms."

She turned and put her hands on his forearms. "Plus…you'd have to be pretty blind not to see how much you and Miley care about each other. I just hope someday I find someone who makes me half as happy as she makes you." She said smiling goodnaturedly at Jake.

Jake was overcome by everything his sister was doing for him. He might have been let down by both of his parents in the last few years but the one thing that he would NEVER regret about it all was how close he had become with his sister. He loved her unfailingly.

He stood up and hugged her tightly. They had both been through a lot these past few years. Neither one would have gotten through it without the other. Now they would start living their lives again…together.

Sarah looked at Jake with tiny tears in her eyes.

As a way to break the emotional silence she joked with him. "Plus if you HATE living with me you can always move out to New York."

Jake smiled broadly again and gave her a sarcastic look. "You have SEEN Miley haven't you?" He asked her with a huge smile on his face.

He let go of his sister and took a deep breath preparing himself for the confrontation he knew was coming when he called his mom to tell her about moving in with Sarah. "Well….Here goes nothing!" He said as he dialed the phone.

**He he. I TOLD you not to give up hope….I wonder what Miley's been doing during all this time??? READ AND REVIEW!!!!! You heard me I said REVIEW! PLEASE???? **


	12. good advice fom unexpected places

**Hey Guys-**

**I want to give a HUGE shout out to EVERYONE who reviewed that last chapter. It was my most reviews in a single day yet. So to all of my avid readers who have reviewed nearly every chapter and those of you who also reviewed for the first time….I REALLY REALLY appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer: Tears. Don't own the characters. If I did I'd probably keep Jake all to myself. **

**Oliver's POV**

Oliver looked over the table at Amber and Ashley's New Year's Eve party to where Lilly and Miley were huddled together continuing to talk about Jake. He knew that his friend's heart was breaking and really he was trying to be as understanding as possible but REALLY did they have to go over EVERY SINGLE LITTLE thing about their so called relationship TONIGHT? This was his and Lilly's first New Year's Eve together and he could think of lots of other ways he'd like to be spending it that didn't include talking about Jake. He had already done his part in consoling Miley by giving her a hug and asking if she wanted him to rough Jake up a bit to let him know that he shouldn't be hurting his friend. Miley had at least laughed at that. Then he had moved on to being silent and understanding…not to mention completely bored for the next 2 hours while Lilly and Miley talked about the situation…again and again.

Lilly and Miley were now once again in the affirmation phase of their conversation where it was Lilly's job to tell Miley that what she was doing was exactly the right thing to do.

"Miley you know that there was no other way for you guys to be together….Plus it probably wouldn't have worked out anyways. You guys have already tried to be together and there were definitely problems." Lilly said in her soft and wise voice.

Miley just looked as miserable as she did when they came propping her head up with her hand and just slouching on the table. Oliver wasn't quite sure why Lilly was wasting her energy. They all knew that Jake had changed a lot in the 2 years he had been gone. And even Oliver could tell that they were crazy about each other.

They were all disappointed that Jake was leaving. He and Oliver had become good friends again over the last week and Oliver liked having another guy around to somewhat even the playing field. He just couldn't see why they had decided to spend tonight apart from each other. He knew they'd both just be miserable. He looked over at Exhibit A, the depressed and un-fun version of Miley Stewart and felt like they both deserved to at least spend their last night here in LA together.

Oliver had kept quiet though because Lilly had assured him that this way would be easier and that Miley didn't need any reminders of how good they could be together while he was in New York. Oliver however had a pain in his heart thinking that it was a big mistake.

Lilly finally went to get some more food for them to share. Oliver decided that maybe this one time he would go over Lilly's head and tell Miley what he thought about the situation…without permission.

He scooted over into the chair now empty next to Miley and gave her a one arm hug. She put her head on his shoulder. "Hey there" She said kindly.

Oliver smiled. "Hey there to you too."

"I'm really sorry that I'm ruining your guys' night." Miley said looking sadder than ever.

Oliver immediately felt guilty about what he had been thinking before. He hadn't really meant it. He would do anything for Miley. She was his best friend. "Miley..this is what friends are for…I just wish there were something more I could do about the whole thing."

Miley just sighed "You and me both."

Oliver looked down at his friend with her head still against his shoulder. "You know Lilly's going to kill me for saying this but…I..uh…I kinda think you're making a mistake."

Miley brought her head up and looked at him seriously. "What do you mean?"

Oliver looked back over by the food to make sure that Lilly was still there and continued. "I mean you and Jake….if I were in your places and it was Lilly that was leaving tomorrow….I just know that I would do ANYTHING to make sure that I spent that last night with her."

Miley gave him a small smile. "I know..but it will hurt so much…"

Oliver looked her in the eye again. "I know it's going to hurt when he leaves but what's the point of staying away? You're hurting anyway. Don't you think you'd prefer to have some good memories about the two of you together rather than always trying to imagine how it WOULD feel if you ever did get together."

"Besides…when I see you two together I have to believe that even if it doesn't work out right at this moment….that eventually… it will. We're all only a year and half away from College and who knows what will happen then. I just know that I waited years to tell Lilly how I felt about her and afterwards it felt like such a waste to have kept it bottled up for so long. I'd just hate for you to feel that way about you and Jake."

He could see that Miley was thinking about this and that she was torn.

"You both have been through a lot lately…especially Jake. Don't you think you both deserve one night of happiness?"

Miley now had a small tear in her eye. She hugged Oliver tightly. "You know…beneath that goofy exterior…You're the best friend a girl could ask for."

He smirked…"Just don't let Lilly hear you saying that. She takes her position as supreme best friend of Miley Stewart very seriously."

Miley laughed again and looked back between Oliver and Lilly. "I think maybe you're right…maybe tonight should be spent with those people we really want to be with."

Oliver looked over at Lilly and smiled too. She really did look beautiful tonight. He looked back to Miley. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

She smiled back at him and took in a deep breath. "Yeah. I think I have somewhere else I need to be tonight."

Oliver smiled as she got up and walked out the door. "At least they'll have tonight," he said to himself as he went to find the girl of HIS dreams.

**Miley's POV**

Miley couldn't help but think that for once in his life Oliver had gotten the situation completely right. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering what would have happened if she'd only told him how she felt. She just wasn't sure of how to tell him. She thought back to all the things that Jake had done for her to show her how much he cared about her….the gift baskets, the star, the cutout of him in the I heart Miley t-shirt…and she knew that she wanted to make to make tonight special. She knew she didn't have a lot of time. Suddenly an idea came to her. She smiled to herself…she only hoped Jake would like it! She got in her car and sped home.

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! I had hoped to make it to 50 reviews for this my first story and now that you all have surpassed that…I'm aiming for the 100 review mark. Make my dream come true…please? **

**And don't worry…we'll see what happens with Jake and his mom next time.**


	13. the decision

**WOW. Thank you sooooo much for all the REVIEWS!!!! I think if we make it to 100 after this chapter I'll publish the ending as a whole as a gift. I'm actually kinda sad that it will be done soon. But anyway I hope you all are enjoying reading it. **

**Disclaimer: Yeah Yeah Yeah….I don't own the characters…we get it already.**

**Jake's POV**

Jake and Sarah spent the next two hours on the phone with their mother reasoning, threatening, screaming, and explaining. She was none too happy with the idea of Jake and Sarah living together or the fact that they pulled her out of a New Year's Eve party with her fiance's family to talk about it. But after awhile they had managed to calm her down a bit.

Jake had been relentless. Every time that his mother had said "NO" to the idea of him and Sarah living together he would give another reason that this would be the best thing for all of them. Jake was completely honest with her. He told her that he had met someone and that she made him happier than he had been in years. He also told his mom how he wasn't sure if he was ready to move out to New York and trust her again after she left him with his dad. Jake knew that his mention of what his life had been like with his dad had hurt his mom. Jake felt bad that this had made her sad but he wasn't lying to get her to agree….he really didn't know if he could trust her again so quickly.

When it was Sarah's turn to talk to their mom it had been much more of an emotional battle. She had even become teary at one point when she tried to explain to their mom what Jake had meant to her since she had left them. How Jake had been the only one of the family to be there for her. Sarah made sure that their mom understood that she wasn't backing down until she let Jake have every opportunity to experience the happiness that he deserved.

Jake had never in his life felt more love and respect for someone as he did for Sarah at that moment. She had been the one to carry him through and he would do everything in his power to make sure that she didn't regret the decision she was making. If he'd had the chance he would have gladly given her every dime he'd ever made since she was the reason that he had survived and here she was doing everything she could to save him once again.

So after a very long time….their mom relented. She would allow them to live together…but she reserved the right to change her mind if ANYTHING went wrong.

So again after another very long bargaining session, concessions were made and ground rules set. Both Jake and Sarah would have to maintain their grades and extracurriculars during the time they lived together. Their mom would try and come out as often as possible and both Jake and Sarah would be coming out to New York for most breaks. Jake would have a strict curfew and there was even talk of a cell phone with GPS on it so that his mom could make sure it was being enforced. Jake didn't care. He would live by any of the rules his mom laid down as long as he could stay here with Sarah and finally have a chance of being with Miley.

After the two hour conversation had ended. Jake hung up the phone. Both he and Sarah had exhausted themselves each taking their turn arguing and fighting with their mom. In the end both were strewn across the living room furniture not having the energy anymore to do anything.

After several minutes of silence and recuperation Sarah started to smile as she looked at Jake.

"So…don't you think you should be getting a move on there Romeo?" She said trying to contain a laugh.

Jake looked at her confused. "HUH…what are you talking about?"

"I mean pretty boy…that it's still pretty early on New Years Eve…and that girl you've just done all this for is at some party probably moping about because you're leaving her tomorrow. Don't you think it would be a pretty good time to go and find her and tell her your news???" She asked flailing her hands about for emphasis.

"Men!" she said in disgust.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked shaking her head slightly.

Jake's demeanor had changed completely. There excitement was back in his eyes as he jumped off the couch and started looking for his keys.

"Sarah once again…you're the BEST!"

"Ok stop telling me things that I already know and go get her!"

"Right….um…have you seen my phone?" He asked looking like he was ready to run out the door.

Sarah laughed. "It's on the counter in the kitchen…but….um….don't you think you should change first?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.

Jake noticed for the first time that he was still in the boxers and tee shirt from the night before. He ran up the stairs. Fifteen minutes later when he came back down in dark jeans, white tee shirt, black and white button down and black blazer. He was dressed to kill. He gave his sister a little smirk and asked her "Well…is this better?"

Sarah had seen her brother looking good before with all the celebrity events he had gone to but even she was impressed with what she saw before her. He looked happier than she had ever seen him and it made him even more handsome. She surveyed him closely with a smirk on her face and shook her head.

"She doesn't stand a chance."

**Miley's POV**

Miley went home and immediately got out the box of keepsakes that she kept hidden away under her bed. She knew that what she was looking for was at the bottom of the box where it would be safe even if Lilly or Jackson had ever found the keepsakes while going through her things. She took the object out and began wrapping it up for Jake. She hoped that he liked it. Once she had finished she started getting ready herself. The old pair of jeans and babydoll top that she had worn to Amber and Ashleys might have been good enough for them…but she wanted to put on something that Jake would be a little more likely to remember. She smiled to herself. She happened to have a little number in the back of her closet that even Lilly hadn't seen before. She thought back to the first time she tried it on and thought that she looked pretty good in it.

After nearly an hour in the bathroom she was finally ready. Every last hair on her head was perfectly placed and the dress she was wearing seemed to look even better on her than she had remembered when trying it on. Of course it was a designer dress intended for Hannah but Miley would let herself indulge this one night. She sprayed on her favorite perfume and took out her cell phone. Well…here I go. She said to herself.

**Please review. Also I'm kinda new to this site so if you have any shameless plugs for any stories that you're proud of writing please let me know…I promise I like to click the review button! **

**  
Thanks again for reading…the end is coming.**


	14. A new year

**Well you guys held up your end of the bargain. My story got 100 reviews….THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! And as I promised here is the ending of my story….all together as a single chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I would like to…I don't own the characters from the show. **

**Jake's POV**

Sarah had just finished giving her final approval over how Jake looked when his phone rang. He reached down and smiled as a picture of him and Miley dancing at the Christmas party popped up on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jake."

"Hey Miley…I was just about to call you." He said smiling to himself.

"Really?" Jake thought that she had sounded happy at the thought of him calling her.

Jake smiled. "Yes. Really. I need to see you. I have something I have to tell you."

"Good…cause I want to see you too." Miley Replied. Jake could almost see her smiling on the other end of the phone biting down on her lip as she always did when she was nervous. It was almost enough to make him crazy just thinking about it.

Jake continued. "Well…can I come by and pick you up? I…I'd really like to talk to you in private."

"Well…Actually…I left the party awhile ago. Why don't you just come by my house. Everyone else is gone tonight so we won't be interrupted." Miley told him.

"I'll be right there." Jake said still smiling to himself. He couldn't wait to tell her his good news.

**Miley's POV**

A few minutes after talking to Jake she heard the doorbell ring. She was excited and nervous about seeing him. She walked down the stairs. When she reached the bottom stair she saw him. He looked better than she had ever seen him look. Goosebumps erupted along both her arms. She was more sure now than ever….she wanted to tell him and show him what he meant to her. No one had ever excited her like he did. No one had ever looked at her the way that he did. And most importantly no one filled her heart like he did.

She couldn't imagine what her life would be like again without him in it. She knew now that she wouldn't forget him or really ever get over him. Somehow he had found a way into her heart and soul from the very beginning and even his absence hadn't erased that memory. He cared about her….the real her. Not Hannah Montana or Miley Stewart…he understood what it was to be one person with different personas in private and public and so he cared about all of her. She knew that these were just the reasons that her mind had made up for why she loved him but the truth was she loved him even before she knew the reasons. He was just Jake…sweet, charming, funny, exciting…and hopefully someday….he would be hers.

**Jake's POV**

Sooner than even Jake could imagine he found himself in front of Miley's door ringing the bell. He had been so preoccupied with himself trying to figure out how to tell her that he was staying that he didn't even see her coming to the door to let him in.

When she opened the door his heart, and breathing had stopped and any thought he had had previously was lost forever. He only saw her.

She looked gorgeous. She looked better than he had ever dreamed of her looking and that was saying something. Some of her auburn curls were pulled up in a loose knot with the rest of it hanging on her shoulders. Little pieces had been pulled out and now framed her beautiful face. He honestly couldn't breathe. The dress that she was wearing didn't help him regain any of his faculties. It was made of some stunning white silk fabric that came together over her left shoulder leaving her right one strikingly bare. The rest of the dress fit her perfectly and came to an end in the middle of her even more spectacular thighs. He was now breathing heavily just being near her when she looked like this.

"Miley…you look.." But he never got to finish his sentence. Somehow she had closed the distance between them and stood on her toes to gently placed her lips on his.

Jake couldn't believe what was happening. Even though his mind had stopped working altogether his body was somehow functioning on pure instinct. He slowly wound his arms around her waist and brought her to him. Her arms had encircled his neck and he could feel tiny explosions happening against his skin everywhere that their bodies touched. Her lips on his were making him feel like his entire body was on fire.

He couldn't believe that less than a few hours ago he was going to walk away from her. He could never do that now. The thrill of having her in his arms…. of kissing her with everything that was in him made him realize how little of life he had been experiencing the last few years. He had learned how to be normal but he had hidden himself away from his father, and his friends. Sadly he had even hidden his feelings…of what it felt like to be happy, what it felt like to be excited, what it felt like to dream so that he wouldn't have to think about what it was like when he was happy. With this simple kiss she had brought all of that back to the surface. She made him ecstatic and not just when she was kissing him but all the time. He never wanted to leave her…ever.

**Miley's POV**

Even she couldn't really believe that she had kissed him. She just couldn't help herself anymore. She had gone all week wanting to kiss him…dying to kiss him and forcing herself not to. When she had seen him standing there looking so wonderful and being so in awe of her she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to know what it would feel like to kiss him again. She had no idea it was going to turn out like that. The second his lips had touched hers a burning heat seemed to engulf her. She needed him. She needed this. As his arms encircled her waist she lost all control and lost herself to him and to the kiss that was making her crazy.

**Normal POV**

Jake was the first one to break the kiss realizing that he needed some part of his brain to function to tell her his news. "Miley…that was…amazing." He got out softly and breathlessly.

Miley stood there in his arms and slowly opened her eyes just to get lost in his. She would definitely have to thank Oliver when she next saw him. There is no way that even her imagination would have been able to dream up a kiss like THAT!

She smiled at Jake. "I had a little talk with Oliver…and he thought that well…maybe being just friends tonight wasn't such a great idea. In fact…he thought it might be a better idea if we spent your last night here…together." She said and kissed him again.

He couldn't believe he was kissing her again. The electricity moving through his body felt incredible. Every inch of his skin seemed alive and he couldn't believe how good it felt to hold her against him like this. He was definitely getting dizzy but couldn't have cared less. This time she broke the kiss and smiled up at him. Jake had somehow regained his ability to speak. "So… does Oliver need a new car or something because I am definitely going to have to thank him." Jake said sincerely.

Miley laughed with her arms still encircled around Jake's neck. "Listen…" She said getting lost in his eyes again. "I wanted to give you something…." She said breaking away from him and leading him hand in hand over to the couch.

She picked up the rectangular package that she had wrapped in gold paper and gave it to him. "Open it." She said tucking a small curl behind her ear.

Jake opened the package to find a framed hand drawn picture of the two of them kissing after Jake's premier with the lyrics to "One in a million" written in her handwriting around it. Jake was stunned. It was beautiful. "Did you….did you draw this?"

Miley just smiled shyly and nodded. "This is the first song I wrote by myself. I started writing the lyrics and drawing the picture the very night after that kiss," she said pointing at the drawing "and finished it a few months after you left." "I guess…I wanted you to know that I never stopped thinking about you….even when you were gone. I just thought you should have it…to remember me by." She said quietly with her voice steady. Her eyes were the only thing that betrayed her sadness.

Fighting back tears she said. "I hope we can somehow be friends. I care about you too much to let you go completely."

Jake looked back at the gift she had given him. It was wonderful. It was special and unique and completely her.

Jake took his hand and brought it to her face so that she looked at him. He locked his hazel eyes on her piercing blue ones. "Miley…." He said with a slight smirk on his face. "If there were ever two people who were just never meant to be friends….I think it was us."

Miley looked sad and confused so Jake took a deep breath and continued. "I had to see you tonight to tell you that I'm not leaving. Sarah and I will be living here….together. "

"And…..and there were a lot of reasons for me to stay…but…the only reason that meant anything to me…was you." He said looking at her again with his green hazel eyes.

"I'm in love with you Miley." He said softly resting his forehead on hers and peering down into her eyes that were rapidly filling with tears.

She couldn't believe her ears. She had waited her whole life to hear someone say those things to her and coming from Jake…the one she loved it made her heart soar.

A tear started streaming down her face. "You're …..you're not leaving?" She got out with much difficulty.

Jake shook his head while keeping it against hers. "Not unless you want me to."

Miley couldn't yet form the words. She just shook her head "No." "I've wanted to be with you again…for so long…I just can't believe." She said getting completely flustered.

She took a breath and looked Jake in the eyes "I love you…I think…I think I always have."

There were no words to describe how Jake felt hearing Miley saying those things to him. Looking into her eyes he knew she meant it. He leaned in and kissed her. Unlike their earlier kisses that were long and passionate this kiss was slow and tender. Their lips broke apart and came together over and over each time intensifying with what they felt for each other. Jake broke apart slowly still breathing hard. "God I love you." Jake said. Miley smiled at the words that made her entire body tingle and kissed him again.

After a long while of kissing and Jake explaining how he and Sarah had worked things out Miley could no longer hold still. She wanted everyone to see how happy she was. So they decided to go back to the New Years Eve party where Lilly and Oliver would be to tell them the good news.

**Lilly's POV**

Everyone had seen them enter the house. It was hard not too. They both looked amazing and ridiculously happy. Jake had walked through the door with his arm around Miley. Lilly had seen the two of them and had no doubt that things between them had changed for good. They weren't pretending to be something they weren't anymore and it seemed to have sparked something inside each of them. As Jake was being surrounded by former classmates that hadn't seen him in more than 2 years Miley had come over and told Lilly what had happened. As she told the story she seemed to be nearly bursting with happiness… but it was nothing compared to the look in her friends eyes when Jake had fought his way out of the crowd and asked her to dance.

The change in Miley was staggering. The depressed sad looking girl who had come with them to the party had disappeared and in her place was someone who was positively radiating with happiness. Miley and Jake danced nearly every dance together not wanting to be even inches away from the other. Even while resting Jake would stand behind Miley with his arms encircling her waist ensuring that she didn't go anywhere. Miley of course didn't mind this at all as she leaned into her boyfriend savoring the thrill of just being with him. They were both laughing and talking more animatedly than Lilly had ever remembered. Looking at them Lilly wondered if there really could be something like soul mates. She herself couldn't be happier now that her friend was letting herself be loved and loving someone else in return. It was turning out to be a wonderful night.

**Normal POV**

The New Year finally approached and the countdown began. 10…9…8…7… Miley and Jake however didn't wait until midnight to share their next meaningful kiss. They had waited more than a week to be close to each other and if they were honest with each other they had waited years to feel the excitement and love that came so easily when they were together.

Miley kissed Jake with everything she had to give him. She kissed him with tenderness, longing, and incredible happiness. The loneliness that had been a part of her double life seemed to have vanished. She had found someone to share both parts of her life with and who cared about….and loved her more than anything else.

Jake would never be able to put into words what he felt for Miley. He simply didn't know words strong enough to accurately portray those emotions. He loved everything about her but most importantly he loved that she loved HIM. She didn't expect him to be Jake Ryan the celebrity, a mythical guy who never had problems or issues in his life. She cared about the real Jake. The Jake who had suffered by himself for a very long time. He knew he wouldn't be facing things by himself anymore and he loved knowing that the amazing girl in his arms wanted to be a part of his life….his real life.

They started the New Year the way it was meant to be started, with new love, new hope, and new dreams that they would share together.

Finis

**Well Everyone that's the END. I'm sad to see it go. I haven't decided if I'll write a sequel or not or just move on to some of the other story ideas that I've had. Please let me know what you thought about the entire story. I LOVE feedback. And thanks again to everyone who read my story and more so to those who reviewed. Without your comments and encouragement I probably would never have finished it. **


	15. Author's note

**A/N. Hello Everyone- I didn't mean to get your hopes up that I would be starting up this story again but I did want to invite you to take a look at a new story I'm starting called "The Finer Things in Life." It's another Jiley fic set when they're all older. Check it out and let me know what you think.**

**Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed this story. I really appreciate it!**


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